World War II veteran to receive high school diploma about 71 years later

Provided by family -- 06/01/14 -- Jack Koolik, 90, of Jacksonville in 1943 when he was serving in the Army Air Force and was stationed in Atlantic City, N.J. Koolik will receive a high school diploma from Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, School of the Medical Arts on Monday during the school's graduation. He enlisted to serve in World War II before he graduated from his hometown high school in Brooklyn, New York.

Jack Koolik left high school to join the Army Air Force in 1943. On Monday, he will finally receive his high school diploma from Darnell-Cookman.

A little more than 71 years ago, Jack Koolik left high school behind to serve his country in World War II. Then 18, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and never got his diploma.

That will change Monday.

His eldest daughter, Bonnie Sandler, will present her 90-year-old father with a long-overdue diploma during the Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, School of the Medical Arts graduation ceremony from 7-9 p.m. at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, 300 W. Water St. Fifty-six Darnell-Cookman graduates also will receive their diplomas during the ceremony.

Sandler, the school’s math department chairwoman, initiated the diploma process with her twin sisters, Susan Pilcer and Helene Saphire, both of East Brunswick, N.J., after consulting with Darnell-Cookman Principal Carol Daniels.

Because he enlisted to fight in the war, Koolik was unable to graduate from his hometown high school, Abraham Lincoln High School. But he’s lived in Jacksonville since 1990, when he and his late wife, Elaine, moved here to be closer to Sandler and her family.

“I can’t believe it. I don’t know how she managed it,” said Koolik of the prospect of getting his diploma.

As an honorably discharged veteran, Koolik was eligible to receive a Florida high school diploma under a state Department of Education program enacted in 2013 by the Legislature. The Veterans High School Diploma Program allows the Florida education commissioner to award a standard high school diploma to an honorably discharged veteran who left a public or private school in any state prior to graduation and entered the U.S. armed forces.

“I am just overwhelmed with pride and we love him so much. We are just so excited,” said Sandler, adding that her father will wear a Darnell-Cookman cap and gown for the ceremony.

Koolik enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, later known as the U.S. Air Force, on Oct. 22, 1942. His unit was attached to the 11th Air Depot Group, which he said “was a radar outfit on the beaches looking out for low-flying planes.

“I was undecided what I wanted to do with my life,” Koolik said of his decision to enlist.

Stationed in Italy, Koolik was in charge of the unit’s cooking facility. The unit came under attack while en route to their base, he said.

“It was kind of scary,” said Koolik, recalling the incident where his convoy was bombed by the Germans as it passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. Because their destination, Naples, was being bombed, they were forced to stay offshore for a while because the ship they were on also was carrying explosives, he said.

During his military service, Koolik received several medals, including the World War II Victory Medal, American Service Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal, as well as marksmanship and good conduct medals.

HONORING HIS SERVICE

Koolik had risen to the rank of corporal when he was honorably discharged on Dec. 11, 1945. Five years later, Koolik married “the love of his life,” whom he’d known since high school. The couple raised their three daughters in a four-room, one-bath apartment in a housing project. They didn’t have much but their parents made sure they had plenty of love, encouragement and inspiration.

After the military, Koolik worked as a silk screen printer.

“My dad sacrificed a lot and worked long, hard hours for us so we would have the opportunity to go to college and be successful,” Sandler said.

Sandler and her two sisters are all veteran teachers. Sandler is retiring after 18 years as an educator, including 13 at Darnell-Cookman, where she teaches honors geometry and algebra. In 2004, Sandler was among five finalists for Duval County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. When Jacksonville hosted the Super Bowl in 2005, Sandler was among three teachers from Duval and neighboring counties to receive the NFL’s Super Role Model Award, recognizing them as a positive influence on students.

Their parents were married for 57 years when Elaine Koolik died at age 78 on April 16, 2007, said Saphire, who came down to see her father get his diploma.

“He was so madly in love with my mom. They used to walk on the beach holding hands. They were very much in love … so I am sure she is just glowing over this for him,” Saphire said.

“They were very blessed, and so are we,” she said.

Their father and mother, Sandler said, were the role models for her and her sisters. Her dad remains an inspiration to the family, which includes seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Presenting him the high school diploma is a way to recognize him, as well as honor his service to the country, Sandler said.

On Monday, Sandler plans to tell him: “I am so proud to represent all of your children, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren and have the honor to present this to you.”